E-Paper
Cabinet approves setting up 730 private FM radio channels in 234 new cities
The Cabinet also approved the proposal to charge the Annual License Fee (ALF) of FM channels as four per cent of the gross revenue excluding the GST, which will be applicable to 234 new cities and towns
New Delhi: The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, approved setting up 730 new private radio channels in 234 new cities with an estimated reserve price of Rs.784.87 crore under the Private FM Radio Phase III Policy. These private radio channels will be e-auctioned.
The Cabinet also approved the proposal to charge the Annual License Fee (ALF) of FM channels as four per cent of the gross revenue excluding the GST, which will be applicable to 234 new cities and towns, said Union information and broadcasting minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
“Many of the approved cities/towns are in aspirational districts and LWE (left wing extremist) affected areas. Setting up of private FM radio in these areas will further strengthen government outreach in these areas,” the government said in a statement.
For radio channels that were auctioned under Phase III in the first two batches in July 2015 and June 2016, respectively, the license fee was the higher at 4% of gross revenue of 2.5% of the bid price called the non-refundable one-time entry fee (NOTEF) for a city.
In September 2023, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) had recommended delinking the ALF from NOTEF as the stakeholders had said that due to the pandemic, 2.5% of NOTEF as license fee had exceeded 100% of the revenue that many stations earned in the early month of FY21.
Under phase III, the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) limits in private FM radio companies were increased from 20% to 26%. Private radio channels were also permitted to carry news bulletins from All India Radio “only in an unaltered form”.
Under phase III, MIB had said that information related to sporting events, traffic and weather, coverage of cultural events, festivals, and coverage of issues related to examinations, results, admissions, career counselling, availability of employment opportunities, and public announcements related to civic amenities like electricity, water supply, natural calamities, health alerts, etc. as provided by the local administration will be treated as “non-news and current affairs broadcast” and will thus be permitted.
Otherwise, private radio channels are not allowed to broadcast news, even though TRAI had recommended in September that they should be allowed to broadcast news for a maximum of 10 minutes each hour. The regulator had also recommended that the built-in FM radio receiver in mobile phones should not be disabled or deactivated.
